May 17, 2006

Okay, the Ford commercial was the coolest thing that ever happened on the show. If my TiVo catches up to the present, I'm just going to go back and rewatch that. The three Idols were in full old-age makeup, singing "Young at Heart." Elliott was insanely old-mannish. And Kat, well, she was making fun of her propensity to display her posterior. It was very padded and she -- as an 80 year old woman -- bobbed it up and down, repeatedly, right in front of the camera. Taylor seemed to be much the same person he actually is. In fact, I'm thinking his gray hair is what gave them the idea for this awesome commercial.

The kids go back to their home towns. Taylor goes back to Birmingham, Alabama, where he briefly performs with his band, then brushes them off to go be in his own parade. The mayor, a black man, gives him the key to the city. Then we see him cheered by crowd after crowd, and everybody's white. We see him inside the governor's mansion (which is fabulous).

Back in the theater, Taylor sings the Doobie Brothers' "Taking It to the Streets." In the lines, "Take this message to my brother/You will find him everywhere/Wherever people live together/tied in poverty's despair" he shouts out "in America" after "Wherever people live together." Does that have some discernable political slant? Or is there a Doobie performance where they shout out "in America"? Anyway, it strikes me as quite political for "American Idol."

Katharine McPhee is from Hollywood. What? An Idol not from the south? It's hard to do the home town show from Hollywood... Ryan asks her about her parents, and she says, "To be honest, I don't talk to them that much." Ow. That's going to hurt with the voters! Now she sings "Think" and she's good on the "Freedom!" lines.

Finally, Elliott Yamin. He goes back to Richmond, Virginia. "Can y'all smell the sweet Virginia air?" he says from the limo. He has the nicest home town people. At one point, there's a closeup on his mom, his overwhelmed mom. Back in the theater, we see mom -- she's beaming -- Elliott -- he's crying -- and Paula -- tears are streaming out of her eyes and mucus out of her nose. He sings "Moody's Mood for Love." It's sweet. Restrained. We ache for Elliott. Must he go??

I speed over some crap with Clive Davis and get to the "reveal." Ryan displays the percentages: 33.06%, 33.26%, and 33.68%. Whose name is behind the o6? Ryan asks. "Let's see it now." Elliott Yamin. "The journey ends. But you have a lot to be proud of."

Elliott's last words: "I'm just a counter clerk in a pharmacy. I've been waiting my whole life for a shot like this."

Jim, agreed that Elliott at home would have been a big up for him, but I think the Taylor at home versus McPhee at home may have been an even bigger contrast. "I don't talk to my parents much"? Whoo! That's worse than John Kerry's response to the "tell me a bit about your wife" question from the 04 debates.

Ah well... so the best singer loses. I'm not a fan of either of the final two so it just got a little less interesting for me. I wish I could have fast-forwarded through Clive Davis. Jeez... that was the most boring ten minutes in TV history.

She clearly said she did not talk to her parents much since the show had been going on. At least that's how I interpreted that statement. Try finding a more substantive reason for not liking her like maybe the way she dresses or what kind of car she drives.

Elliot seemed genuinely amazed at the reception he received back in Richmond. Kat's seemed so, well, SoCal, I just couldn't feel anything for her - now that I see where she comes from, I can appreciate her 'phoniness' - it's in the water there in LA. Missed Taylor's deal, not that I was sorry about that.

Don't you think that you're maybe getting a little too involved in a trumped-up talent contest if you're investing two hours of your life - two hours you can never get back? Over a drug store clerk? Surely there are more rewarding things to do with the time, even assuming it isn't rigged.

Sorry I missed Elliott' sing out and what seems to have been a memorable video of him going home. And I'm sorry Elliott is gone. But it may be for the best. He can sign with a smart jazz label. I'd buy his product.

Dare I admit that the first time I ever watched American Idol was a week ago. I have to ask, how does that Kat keep winning? I haven't heard her sing a song yet that was on key and why does she slide into the notes? It is grating. If she wins, it will be on looks alone, certainly not on talent.

Oops, I cut my own message off. I wanted to add ... my vote is for Taylor. He is definitely the best voice. Can't say I think much of his dancing though and he does look like he still hasn't lost his baby fat.

Loved every minute of it. Everyone sang great, everyone had fun, Elliott's my hero and I will buy whatever he does. Now I don't care who wins, so I can just relax and enjoy the huge finale. So effin' awesome!

I live in San Diego and for those of you who have never been to Hollywood, it is very understandable why people there wouldn't be as excited about someone on American Idol. When you can walk down the street and see famous people every day, it's not such a big deal. Katherine seems like a sweet girl and she has an amazing voice. Granted, so does Taylor, so we'll just have to wait for the finals to see who can pull through.

squiggler: Kat was actually very good in the earlier parts of the competition. The nerves have been getting to her. You're really, really exaggerating if you think she is off key all the time, considering that Elliott has had major pitch problems and Taylor is so-so.

Anyway, this is what happens when the two best singers get kicked off in weeks 4 and 3.

TCD: What about us McBoob fans? I've never had any illusion it was a singing competition.

You could go to someplace, for example McMurry University in Abilene Texas and listen to the twenty or so students in the Chanters choral group, anyone of whom is a better singer than Taylor or Katharine. They don't want to be pop stars.

paulfromm: Disagree. Song #1 last week (May 9) was an out-of-tune mess and song #1 this week (May 16) had significant problems. I'm not saying Elliott doesn't have talent or a pretty good voice, but the statements that he was significantly better than his competition I think are just bogus and ignore his problems with interpretation (e.g. does he ever shape songs or does he just sing them at pretty much one dynamic level?).

For me, Paris and Chris were the special talents in the group (for different reasons).

stever: I believe you about the Chanter choral group but I wonder how those singers they would sound performing songs they didn't know particularly well for 30 million people in a high-stakes competition. Answer: most of them would sound like crap. Some empathy please.

jult52: My point is, its not about singing and we are not seeing the best singers at this stage. Taylor is there because he has elements in addition to singing which make him popular and a willingness to go through the process (such as singing whatever they tell you to). And Katharine looks good..

TCD seemed to imply it was wrong to vote off a better singer in favor of a more attractive one.

SteveR,No, I don't think it's wrong that a better singer was voted off b/c I do think AI is pop culture kitsch and shouldn't be taken seriously. However, I think it's pathetic when men go gaga over a pretty face, hair extensions and a big bust. What were you guys hoping for? That somehow Kat was going to bust another button on her dress and display her world to you? Why not jerk off to a copy of Playboy or something?

American Idol is rigged, though fun, I recommend never voting again. It became apparent on May 23 voting for Katherine how it the voting is biased. The number of incomming calls that are accepted are doctored. From two separate phone lines we called for 3 hrs voting for Katherine, from 9PM pacific to EXACTLY 10PM approximately 1 out of 20 got through, the rest busy. From 10PM, instantly almost every call got through, Then strangly, at exactly 11PM Katherine calls go blocked again. Those who experienced similar evidence, hit every blog on the internet.